


Companions in Shipwreck

by nocowardsoul



Category: Jo's Boys - Louisa May Alcott, Little Women Series - Louisa May Alcott
Genre: Community: 1sentence, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-23
Updated: 2014-11-23
Packaged: 2018-08-10 10:12:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7840735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nocowardsoul/pseuds/nocowardsoul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The sound of the bells wakes Emil in the morning, then he remembers he is a passenger on the <i>Urania</i>, not a sailor, and closes his eyes again (all of his dreams are of her).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Companions in Shipwreck

#22 - Journey  
At seventeen he returns to Plumfield and says to his uncle, "I know you hoped going to sea was only a boy's fancy, but I loved it," and Fritz says, "Ah, well, I shall not part a man from his vocation."

#09 – Red  
The first time she sees him he's standing at the taffrail, examining the red sky over the harbour, and she thinks his expression of concentration is rather handsome.

#21 - Silence  
When the pair of them walk past two members of the crew, the men stop talking; Mary knows that means they were discussing something not fit for a lady's ear.

#25 – Mask  
He tells her dozens of stories about growing up at Plumfield - painting masks for plays, pretending to be a Brop, racing rowboats, - and then asks her what it's like to be an only child.

#16 - Cover  
"My Aunt Jo writes," he says during one of their early walks; in an excited voice she replies that she's a devoted reader of Mrs. Bhaer's books.

#28 - Forgotten  
He forgets the lyrics in the middle of the verse; her winsome voice finishes it for him.

#27 - Fall  
She watches her father fall overboard and her jaw drops; she watches Mr. Hoffmann rescue him and knows she'll be forever grateful.

#39 - Overwhelmed  
After the wreck, her father's injury, her own thirst and hunger, and the deaths of the two sailors, the sight of their savior is too much for Mary; she bursts into the tears kept inside for her mother's sake, and holds onto Emil (when did she stop thinking of him as Mr. Hoffmann?)

#44 – Hope  
They never mind the rain again; they know that someone out there in the world was hoping for it.

#01 - Ring  
The sound of the bells wakes Emil in the morning, then he remembers he is a passenger on the _Urania_ , not a sailor, and closes his eyes again (all of his dreams are of her).

#31 - Sacred  
The only English book she can find in the house is a New Testament, so while Emil rests she reads him the verses that mean so much more to them now that they have been so close to heaven. 

#02 - Hero  
"I was a quick-tempered and impatient child," he tells her; she laughs at this description of the _Brenda's_ hero, but he insists he was.

#05 - Run  
"And I was a rambunctious little girl; my favorite game was to run in circles around the garden." "You'll be great friends with Josie and Nan."

#42 - Talk  
Mary recounts her adventure to Ludmilla, then asks with womanly interest about her wedding plans; Franz and Emil catch each other's eye and smile.

#38 - Forever  
Mrs. Hardy mentions returning to England, and the idea startles him; he's so accustomed to having Mary around that he forgot they must part; Mary looks at him with an expression of surprise, and he tells his cousins that was the moment that he truly proposed to her.

#20 - Talent  
When the conversation turns to music, Ludmilla jokes that with Mary's piano, Nat's fiddle, Franz's flute, and Emil's voice the family has a full orchestra.

#29 - Dance  
"I hope you can keep up with him," Franz says when one of Ludmilla's friends holds a dance; she was raised on English country reels, so she can match his pace (although she does sleep very soundly that night).

#41 - Wait  
Her father says it's too soon to marry, that she hasn't seen him at his worst; Mary replies that she's seen him at his best when other men would have been at their worst.

#06 – Hurricane  
There are many dangers that can befall a sailor, but Mary considers spending her years anxious over her love worse than any storm.

#46 – Gravity  
Nat Blake wasn't told until the day of that the wedding was a double one; the look on his face is so amusing that none of the four of them can keep a serious expression.

#15 - Silk  
The first night they spend as husband and wife he strokes her hair and whispers, "It's as soft as silk."

#43 - Search  
It takes weeks, nearly all of their honeymoon voyage, but at last Mary finds in her memory a song that Emil doesn't already know; she's very pleased with herself.

#17 – Promise  
"I never thought of it before, but I was rather looking forward to seeing China." "Don't worry, we'll anchor at that port some day."

#47 – Highway  
On the ride to Concord Mary sits next to Emil, across from Franz and Ludmilla, alternating between admiring the countryside and basking in the anticipation of surprising her new family.

#12 - Temptation  
When he sees her in a fresh dress, Josie's bouquet in her brown hair, he can't resist himself; he kisses her on the staircase.

#34 – Formal  
The class day party is less sophisticated than those of Ludmilla's society friends; as the younger groom gives all the college girls a turn and Demi, Rob, Ted, and Tom each dance with the brides, Mary and Emil both decide they like it better.

#30 – Body  
After the trip from Hamburg to Boston, she's quite eager for exercise; Emil thinks she looks beautiful playing tennis with Josie.

#33 - World  
Some men go to sea because they want to visit other countries, but Mary knows that Emil isn't one of them; he enjoys his profession most when he's en route.

#26 - Ice  
She's sitting in his cabin because it's hailing on deck; when he enters he presses his freezing hand to her neck and she gasps, "Emil, don't!"

#08 - Cold  
But she knows he's cold, so she takes off his wet uniform and kisses him warmly.

#18 - Dream  
On occasion he dreams of the wreck; he wakes up next to her and knows it was all worth it.

#10 – Drink  
Emil is such a warm and friendly fellow that it startles her when she first hears his voice harshly reprimand a man for drunkeness.

#19 - Candle  
Her hair is limp and her skirt is rather ragged, but as far as he's concerned there's not a woman on Earth that can hold a candle to her.

#24 - Strength  
In Shanghai Mary sets down her cup of tea and says, "That was worth the wait."

#03 - Memory  
She gives him a tour of her hometown: the school where she learnt arithmetic, the park where she rolled her hoop, the hill where her father taught her the constellations.

#37 – Lies  
She lies alone at night, hand on her growing stomach, and hopes nothing happens to his current ship.

#04 – Box  
He writes her nearly every day, and she keeps all of his letters in a carved wooden box.

#36 – Laugh  
The first time he sails without her it is due to her first pregnancy; at the end of the voyage he sees her on the dock holding their baby and laughs with joy.

#48 – Unknown  
"Mama, what does the bottom of the sea look like?" and she replies, "Dark, I imagine, and full of fish."

#49 – Lock  
There's a cottage on the hill that is locked for the greater part of the year, except for when Professor Bhaer's nephew is ashore.

#23 - Fire  
Winter at Plumfield means pasttimes that Emil and Mary can't enjoy at sea: caroling, plays, dances, and a fire in their bedroom.

#35 – Fever  
When she has a fever he leaves the running of the ship to his mate and nurses her through it.

#13 – View  
When they learn that Josie is to play Lady MacBeth, they quickly arrange to be in Boston that month.

#32 - Farewells  
They live in three countries and visit several more; they say constant good-byes to Franz and Ludmilla in Germany, Captain and Mrs. Hardy in England, and his Uncle Fritz and Aunt Jo in Massachusetts.

#14 - Music  
Her favorite sound is Emil singing the children lullabies.

#45 – Eclipse  
Watching the eclipse of the moon, they stand at the bow holding hands like newlyweds.

#40 – Whisper  
That they were from different places never mattered until the Great War broke out, then Germany became England's enemy, her surname suspicious, and Concord, as always, their refuge.

#50 - Breathe  
Their son is unable to enlist in the British army, and although he's disappointed, they both breath a sigh of relief.

#11 – Midnight  
Even when she's a grandmother he still calls her "dear lass."

#07 - Wings  
They stare out of the plane; the buildings become dollhouses, the roads thin strings, and the parks like green clouds; Mary and Emil both gasp at the new view of the well-known Atlantic.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from [a letter of J.R.R. Tolkien's](http://glim.ru/personal/jrr_tolkien_42-45.html).


End file.
